Before signing, these are the most important travel nurse contract questions to ask your travel nurse recruiter.

Hopefully, you have asked your recruiter questions about the agency they work for, you were satisfied with their answers, you found a job you like, and now you are going over your contract.

There are some key questions to ask before signing that baby, and I ask every single one, every single time before I sign and start a new travel assignment.

It’s important to know about things such as requested time off (RTO), floating policy, if your hours are guaranteed every week, and so on.

Keep reading to see what travel nurse contract questions to ask before accepting a travel nurse assignment.

What Are The Top Travel Nurse Contract Questions To Ask Before Signing

1. Are My Hours Guaranteed?

You will want to make sure that you will be scheduled to work 36 hours every week. 

In case of low census or not enough shifts to go around, you can be sure that you will get your 3 shifts and therefore a full paycheck. 

2. What Is The Floating Policy?

It should be written into your contract whether you will be required to float to another unit or campus or not. 

In my experience, I have never been floated even when it was stated in my contract that I could, but it’s nice to know whether it could potentially happen or not. 

3. Is My Requested Time Off In The Contract?

You’ll want to make sure to ask this travel nurse contract question, especially if you have days that you will need off.

Your requested time off (RTO) is the vacation days that you need off and will also be written into your contract.

If the facility approves your RTO and schedules you to work on any of those days, it is a violation of your contract and you should tell your recruiter and manager immediately. 

Most likely, it was a mistake and they should fix the schedule with no problem. 

4. Are My Reimbursements In The Contract?

Talk with your recruiter about any reimbursements you agreed upon and make sure they are in the contract.

Otherwise, they technically don’t have to give them to you.

Some reimbursement examples include travel, scrubs, and certifications.

5. What Is The Overtime Rate, Can It Be Increased, and How Much OT Can I Work?

I always ask if my overtime pay rate can be increased. 

Always.

9 times out of 10 they “have room” to go up on it.

It is also important to know how much, if any, OT you are allowed to work.

Some hospitals have a cap on it as it can get pretty expensive on their end.

6. Are My GSA Rates Maxed Out?

This is an important question to ask a travel nurse recruiter.

You’ll want to ask, and check, if your tax-free government stipends are maxed out or not. 

These stipends are what pay for travel nurse housing.

So if you’re asking yourself, “Do travel nurses get housing?” the answer is yes. And these stipends, or, “per-diems” are what pay for it.

99% of the time, these GSA stipends will be maxed out as it is the facility that pays these, not the agency.

You can see what the stipend is by going to the GSA website, scrolling down to “Per-Diem Lookup” and typing in the location of the hospital. I have an example of how to do this, here.

And it must be where your facility is located, not where you’ll be living — that is a personal choice that you make.

If your stipend isn’t maxed out, tell your recruiter and they should fix it for you.

7. What If I Am Called Off?

It’s important to ask what happens if you get called off for either an entire or part of your shift.

There should be a clause in your contract stating whether or not you will still get paid, or, if there is a maximum number of hours that you can get called off before they have to start paying you.

For example, my contract states that I can be called off for three shifts (or 36 hours) without pay, and for any other call-off after that, I will still get paid my normal rate whether I’m working or not. 

Also, be sure to ask what will happen if you need to cancel a travel nurse contract.

Most likely, you will be “black-listed” from ever working at that facility again so make sure if you do need to cancel that it’s for a good reason.

8. What Is The Holiday Pay Rate?

Ask if you are required to work holidays and what holidays are included.

Also, your holiday pay rate should be a high, premium number.

If you work the night shift, ask how the holiday hours work. 

At my last job, you had to work the night before the actual holiday to qualify for the holiday pay.

9. Is There A Missed Hours Penalty?

This question should be asked during the interview you did with your recruiter, but make sure your travel nurse agency doesn’t have a penalty for calling out sick.

Some agencies make you pay them money (or it’s taken out of your paycheck) for the missed hours worked. 

10. Is There A Non-Compete Clause?

A travel nurse non-compete clause states that if you work with an agency at a facility for an assignment, you are legally not allowed to work at that same hospital but with a different agency for a certain amount of time.

I had this clause in my very first contract and I completely missed it.

And guess what?

When I left that agency to work with a new one for the same hospital, they didn’t want to hire me because of the non-compete clause.

If you see this, think carefully about whether you want to continue or not.

Being a travel nurse means we are free agents and free to work anywhere we please. 

Having an agency limit us is a red flag in my book.

11. Are My Hours Guaranteed For Orientation Week?

Not getting enough hours on orientation week is very common.

Some agencies will pay your guaranteed 36 hours on orientation week, but most exclude this week in the guaranteed hours clause.

Also know that if you start orientation on a Wednesday and not a Monday, you will not get your full stipend for that week because you technically “weren’t there” until Wednesday. Meaning, they aren’t going to give you your stipend for Monday and Tuesday if your first day isn’t until Wednesday.

Conclusion

Asking these 11 travel nurse contract questions before accepting a travel assignment will definitely help prevent you from making a potential mistake. 

All travel nurses should ask these questions for every new assignment, so do not be nervous about doing so.

I guarantee you that all seasoned travel nurses have a list of things to check and ask before committing the next 13 weeks of their lives to a job.

If you have any other questions about your travel nurse contract, I encourage you to ask me for help and I will gladly look over your contract to make sure it is legally sound and has your best interest in mind. 

Comment below to get in touch for a travel nurse contract review!

FAQ

Disclaimer: I may earn commissions from purchases made through the links in this post at no extra cost to you.